AN: 08-28-11 12:10 Fixed some errors, nothing major
Chapter 20 - Point Man
"What do you mean 'over the top'?" Edward muttered and tugged at the hood of his sweatshirt, pulling it up over the scarf and beanie that was already in place, covering most of his hair. He looked like a bank robber; all he was missing was a pair of pantyhose to pull over his face.
"Just loose the scarf, it's a bit too much," Bella advised him with a hint of a smile as she pulled the car into an empty space in the parking lot outside the Harvey Health Center. "And stop fidgeting!"
"You said to go for casual, to dress it down," Edward scowled, looking himself up and down. He didn't see the problem: regular faded jeans, his old comfy sneakers, a dark hooded sweatshirt and a jacket. Hardly attire that should stand out.
"No, I said 'dress to blend in', but never mind. It's too late to do anything about it now anyway. Just… try not to scowl at people."
"I do not scowl," he scowled without catching the irony.
"Whatever you say Mr. Smiles and Sunshine," Bella mocked, rolling her eyes at him as she unfastened her seatbelt. "Your appointment is for 10.30. We'll wait in the car until it's time to go in. I'll walk you inside, but once the kiddo's name is called you're on your own."
"… with an unruly child and a whole bunch of needles. Great plan Swan! I hate needles. No, hate is the wrong word. I loathe needles."
"So don't look at them then. I'm fairly certain that the procedure will be conducted by a pediatrician, or a medically trained person at the very least," she pointed out, with a shake of her head. "You just need to help them hold the kid still for a few minutes, that's all."
"And when they ask about his medical history… You want me to do what? Tell the truth?"
"Of course. Plead your case. You have quite the sob story up your sleeve, milk it for all it's worth. Try and get them to pull information out of their database for you. Make them think of you as a concerned father. As long as you keep your cool, no one will question your agenda. You have nothing to be nervous about."
"Easy for you to say, you're trained for undercover work and secrecy missions."
"You're bringing your son in for a check-up, it's as simple as that. No secrecy, no hidden agendas."
"Excuse me for getting a tad bit nervous here," he grumbled in response to her pointed look. "I'm pretty sure hacking into confidential records was a criminal offence, last time I checked."
"Hacking? Really?" Her face was a picture of feigned surprised. "Is that what you think will happen here today?"
"Well yeah, I though the idea was to collect as much data as we could possibly get our hands on. Isn't that what you meant when you said you wanted us to snoop around?"
She laughed like she'd just been told a very amusing joke. "Honey, I'd love to see you give it a try, but unless you've been holding out on me I'd say you computer skills are limited to online poker and Facebooking."
"Fine…" he relented. "You're right. I'm unlikely to hack into anything, anytime soon. I just figured…the way you're always on your computer… and with your FBI training… and your contacts… but never mind," he said with a dismissive gesture. "I know you're planning something, but I'm probably better off not knowing any details."
"Yeah, that's what I figured you'd say," Bella agreed with a smirk. "I told Seth we couldn't count on you for any assistance…" she trailed off waiting for the light bulb to flicker on in his head.
"Wait! You said what to who?"
"Seth," she repeated calmly, trying her very hardest not to laugh when she saw Edward's eyebrows rise in an almost comical expression.
"Clearwater? Your colleague? The one you tag-teamed with to bring down that crazy stalker chick?"
"The one and only. He'll be pleased to hear that you remember him. Look in the review mirror! The blue jeep, two rows down."
"He's here? You told him? He knows you're helping me?" Edward shifted in his seat, looking piqued. "What happened to doing things on the sly and keeping things on the down low? I thought you said no secrecy, no hidden agendas…"
"I lied. We're in a bit of a time crunch here, Edward. I need to be back at work after New Years. That leaves me with less than two weeks to work with. I'm sorry I brought Seth here without consulting you first, but he's the best reinforcement there is. He's the biggest tech nerd I know of and he does these sorts of things for fun."
"What sort of things? No wait – I'm better off not knowing!" Edward decided, shaking head. "I can't get caught up in anything illegal. I have kid to feed, house and clothe. I trust you enough to let you handle this your way, but if anyone ask I'll deny all knowledge of this conversation."
"Finally he's getting it! Give the man a cigar" Bella joked, before turning serious. "We have it all worked out. It will be a small operation that involves little to no risks. We're not planning on getting caught, obviously, but if the shit hits the fan I'm willing to take all the blame. I don't want anyone to get hurt, especially not Anthony. Okay?" Tilting her chin slightly, she fixed his gaze with her own. "And just so we're clear, I'm doing it voluntarily."
His eyes flickered away from her face for a brief second before he nodded grimly in silent agreement. "I want this whole mess to be resolved as quickly as possible."
"So do I Edward, so do I. And as always timing and preparation is everything." Reaching into her handbag Bella pulled out what looked to be a pink Ipod, but with a strange looking, external battery. "Video cam," she explained when she saw Edwards questioning look, as she unzipped her jacket and clipped the device to the front pocket of her shirt.
Next device to be pulled out of her bag was an earpiece that she connected to the ipod-slash-camera thingy. "Comm. unit," she told him before he had a chance to ask.
The third and final item she showed him was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. "Pretty nifty, eh? It looks like a brooch and you pin it to your clothes like this."
"Let me guess, that's some sort of laser gadget that cuts through steel."
"Nah, I left all my fancy laser gadgets at home. This my friend is a R22 receiver. It picks up signals from wireless clients, such as security cameras, key card readers, mobile workstations etc. Very useful when you're trying to gain access to restricted areas."
"I'll take your word for it!" Edward replied solemnly. "Please, whatever you do, don't make me regret this…""
"So, does that mean we have a go?" Bella asked for clarity.
"I've already agreed, haven't I?"
"Good, because now would be a good time to get the little guy awake and out of his car seat."
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xXx
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"Good morning and welcome to the Harvey Health Center, how may I help you?"
"Hi, we are here to see Dr. Foster." Bella took the lead, stepping up to the front desk.
"Alright, my name is Anna and I am going to help you register for your appointment. What's the name of the patient?"
"Anthony…. Anthony Cullen," Bella answered the question without any hesitation.
The name sounded strange in Edwards ears – like it was somehow wrong to be addressing the child that way.
The nursing attendant typed a few things into her key board, and then looked up. "May I please see some form of identification?"
Edward stepped forward and set the Anthony down on the counter. Pulling out his wallet he handed over his driver's license and insurance card. "I have some legal documents, they should work as temporary id for the boy, or so I've been told," he explained awkwardly, with a bit of a blush tinting his face.
The woman pushed her glasses up higher on her nose and took a closer look at the documents in question. "That's alright, everything seems to be in order. This is a free clinic so anyone can come in for a consultation, no questions asked," she explained and smiled at them reassuringly. "Please have a seat in the waiting room and someone will come get you when it's time for your appointment."
"Actually, seeing as we are quite a bit early, would it be okay if we linger in the hallway for a while?" Bella asked, seemingly innocently, her mind already busy with taking visual stock of the layout of the place. "Our boy slept in the car and we just woke him up. He's kind of shy."
The woman nodded. ""I can't see why not. Don't wander off too far, though!"
And as easy as that the plan had been set in motion.
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xXx
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Half an hour after arrival and the infiltration of the Harvey Health Center was in full swing. Having managed to slip into the staff-only-area, Bella swiftly and silently moved from one room to the next, in her search for an unlocked, unattended workstation.
There was probably no easier way to gain unauthorized access to a network than simply walking up to an unattended computer. You'll need to crack the password of course, but once that is done, you're in... Passwords are perhaps the weakest links in the cyber-security chain. Far too many people end up using passwords that are easy to type and remember, and thus, easy to guess.
The second best option would be to find the actual hardware, the server room, and hack into the system from the inside… but that's a hell of a lot riskier, not to mention more time consuming.
Either way, Bella knew she had to step up her game. So far she'd managed to stay unnoticed, but every now and then she'd see a glimpse of someone in white lab coat or salmon-colored scrubs. The risk of getting caught increased with every passing minute. Just as the though flitted through her mind she heard the patter of footsteps behind her.
Ducking behind a coffee machine, Bella narrowly escaped a face to face confrontation with a group of nurses who appeared to be heading outside for a smoke. She flattened herself against the wall and waited until their lively chatter had faded to a distant murmur echoing dimly in her head.
With the coast clear she continued her search.
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xXx
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"Hey, hey, hey! Anthony don't touch…" CRASH"…anything!" Edward hollered, watching in horror as the boy knocked a tray of scissors and other sharp looking tools to the floor.
"My, you're certainly a lively one!" Dr. Foster chuckled. "Let's find you something else to play with," the physician suggested, steering the boy in Edward's direction, who immediately scooped him off the floor and into a rather brusque embrace.
Anthony did not like being restricted by his fathers arms. Squealing, he flared his own arms around like a possessed windmill, knocking over several more items in the process.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Edward apologized profoundly, while struggling to get the boy seated securely in his lap. "I should have known better than to let him roam free like that."
"Don't worry about it! He's acting his age, that's a good sign given what you've told me about his background."
With a reassuring smile the young physician pulled out a latex glove and blew it up like a balloon.
"Honestly, I'd be more alarmed if he wasn't as alert and active as he is, considering that he might not have been given enough nourishment to allow for proper growth," he added, while he tied the glove to seal it
The child watched in mute fascination as the strange looking balloon creature got a beak, two scrawny legs with claws and a set of eyes, courtesy of a permanent marker.
"There you go, Chuck the rooster," Dr Foster smiled, as he presented Anthony with his new toy.
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xXx
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"You're giving me nothing to work with, Swan" Seth whined over the comm. unit. "You need to find someone higher up on the food chain! Someone with a higher security clearance. Try to look for a lab or a private office."
Bella nodded, then realized he couldn't see her. She didn't dare using her voice for fear of drawing unwanted attention to herself so instead she settled for forming an OK sign with her forefinger and thumb in front of the camera she wore, hoping her collogue was paying attention to the video feed. Knowing Seth, though, he probably was.
He had certainly appreciated the bonus tour of the ladies room she had given him ten-something-minutes ago. Damn pregnancy bladder! Or maybe it was nerves… maybe it was both… One thing was certain, this was not good for her blood pressure.
Seth had offered to swap places with her, more than once. He was the brain behind the operation and would have gladly taken on the role as the point man. He knew his stuff and worked extremely fast, but it hardly seemed fair to put him in a position where he'd be the one taking the heat if something went wrong.
No, she had to do this herself, there was no way around it. She just hoped to get it over with quickly without putting too much strain on her body and mind. As much as she hated admitting it, she wasn't exactly in the best of shapes. This 'thing' growing inside her was sucking out energy like a hungry pack of leeches on fresh blood. No wonder her boss was hesitant about reinstating her status as a field agent… The wild surge of hormones alone was making her in to this emotional wreck of a person that she'd never before been in her entire life.
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xXx
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"It looks like 'Chuck the rooster' did the trick," Dr. Foster commented with a smile. "So daddy, do you have any more questions before I call the nurse in here to start the scratch test?"
"Err no, not about the test, Edward said, racking a hand through his hair. "You explained that part really well, but I was wondering if you could help me with this other thing."
"Of course Mr. Cullen, tell me what it is and I'll see what I can do."
"Well…I'm not sure how to word this, " Edward admitted with a grimace. "This whole situation is very frustrating. This child is my son, my own flesh and blood, but I know very little about him. I'd like to change that, starting with his medical history."
The Doctor nodded in understanding. "This scratch test here today is good start. There are other test…"
"Yeah, I'm sure there are a bunch of tests that could be carried out, but that's not what I wanted to ask about," Edward interrupted. "Listen, I have reasons to believe that this is not his first visit here at this clinic. The kid has been living in the area for a while and I'm convinced that he must have received treatment for his allergies at one point or another. Is there any way you could look in your files... I mean how many kids could there be that have been treated for allergies in this clinic over the last three years…"
"You'd be surprised… Food allergies are more common now than ever before." Dr. Foster swiveled around in his chair to access the computer on his desk. "I'll give it a try, but I can't promise anything."
"I realize it's a long shot, considering we only have his Christian name and his birth date to go on."
"You said he turns three in January…"
"Yes, on the 24th."
The man tapped some keys and there was a faint rumbling. The search took a while. It felt like minutes, but it probably wasn't much more than a few seconds. "I've got three matches on that birth date."
"Great, what can you tell me about them?" Edward asked shifting the child in his lap, so that he could get a better angle to look at the computer screen.
"The first one is… a girl." Dr. Foster clicked a few times with the right mouse button. "The second one, I'm afraid, is also a girl… but the third one is a boy. "
"What's his name?"
"I can't tell you any specific information, that would be a breach of confidentiality. However, what I can tell you is that his name is not Anthony and he was not treated for allergies and I see nothing in his record that points towards your son."
"Oh…" Edward's face fell. "Are you sure it's not him?"
"Positive!"
"How about if you search for his christian name? Can you do that? Can you see how many Anthony's that's been treated here?"
"Hm.. That would be… 316…. over the last five years. It's quite a popular name."
"Alright, but can you see how many of those that are under the age of three and whether or not they've received treatment for allergies?"
"I'm sorry, no, that is simply not possible. I'd have to click on every single name on this list and read through every single record to get the information you need. This is a free text search so it finds any matches of the phrase you type in. Christian name, middle name, last name, street address, next of kin… "
"I get it," Edward shook his head in defeat. "It would be too time consuming."
"I wish I had the resources to help you," the doctor said looking genuinely sympathetic "But as you know, this is a free clinic and my time is stretched thin as it is."
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xXx
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Having muddled through a network of twenty something units, Bella finally stuck gold - a set of double doors with the text "Server room" spelled out on the right hand door in giant, blocky letters.
Eyeing the large rectangular entrance from across the hall, she surveyed the corridor from signs of movement. The room was locked with one of those high security electronic locks, complete with a keycard reader that required both I.D card and pincode….
Bella pulled a screwdriver out of her pocket and began unscrewing the panel. Seth had prepped her for this. She knew the steps; dismount the card reader, demagnetize the unit, re-work the wiring. She wasn't sure how or why it worked, she just knew it worked.
She never got a chance to test her new-found skills though. The console suddenly blipped and the access lamp went from red to green. She jumped like a startled deer, a reaction which apparently amused her colleague greatly because she could hear him taunting her over the comm. unit.
"Bloody show off," she muttered as she slid inside the room and closed the door behind her. "Another minute or two and I would have worked it out myself… I'm not a complete klutz you know."
"An inch of time is an inch of gold, my friend" came the reply. Security panels was another one of Seth's specialties; there wasn't a lock he couldn't pick or an alarm he couldn't dismantle.
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xXx
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Edward sipped slowly at his Coke while he waited for Anthony to grow tired of the play set and come back to eat the rest of his food.
He glanced at his watch and then looked up, comparing the time with the clock on the wall.
12:06
He sighed and leaned back in his seat. The smell of greasy hamburgers and French fries was making his already nervous stomach toss uncomfortably. Waiting for Bella at the McDonald's restaurant across the street from the clinic had been his own idea, though.
He finished his coke, the ice cubes already long gone. People came and went. Edward paid them no attention, instead he let his eyes dart between Anthony and the clock on the wall. The sound system was playing some new rock song that he didn't recognize and he realized it had been a while since he had kept up with the current music.
He looked at his watch again.
12:09
Damn…. Time was moving so slowly it seemed as if it wasn't moving at all.
Bella had told him she'd meet him there at noon. How long should he wait? What should he do if she didn't show up? Find Clearwater? Take the kid and go back inside himself? Sit tight and do nothing? None of those felt like good options.
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xXx
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"Gross, Swan. Was that a fart I just heard?" the comm. unit crackled in her ear.
"Very funny!" Bella replied in a muted tone of voice. "No, it was just my stomach growling. I'm starving. If I'd known how much running around you'd have me do, I would have brought some snacks."
"Don't think I didn't see that Twinkie you stole from that poor woman whose desk draw you raided!"
"I did no such thing! Now, shut up and let me concentrate! What exactly is it that I'm doing here? You want me to plant one of those key loggers?"
"No, we don't want to leave any traces behind. I can't really see the room all that clearly, so you have to describe to me what we're dealing with. Like for starters, how many racks are there?
"Racks, that's the metal frames that holds the hardware. right? There is only one giant tower thingy. So one rack, but possibly several servers, I guess."
"If the front of the rack has a door you're going to need to open it to see the hardware trays."
"There is a door, but it's locked. No wait, there's a hinge mechanism, " she announced as her fingers felt their way down the side of the door. "I'm in! Anything in particular I should be looking for?"
"How about we start with a tape drive," Seth suggested. "It looks sort of like the front of an old fashion VCR player, with an eject button and a deck where the tape slides in horizontally. The size of the slot varies depending on what tapes they use. DLT tapes are about one inch high and 3,5 inches wide."
Bella bit her lip in concentration as her eyes moved methodically over the space, from left to right, top to bottom. "I can't find anything that looks like a VCR or cassette deck. I think I've located a cd rom drive, though, if that's of any help."
"Don't worry, the absence of a tape drive is good news. It means that they might be using an external USB Hard Drive for backup. "
"Oh…external as in plugged in externally?"
"Yes. It shouldn't be too hard to spot. The disk is either USB powered or self-powered through an AC adapter. Look for power cords and what they are attached to."
"Okay, hold on!" She let her eyes run over the rack all over again. "Is this it?" she asked pointing to a black rectangular box shaped device with three yellow lights in the front.
"No, that's a router. Keep looking. "
"What about this one?" she pointed to another similar shaped piece of equipment.
"Not sure. I can't get a clear visual. Can you take a step to your right? You're blocking the light."
She followed his instructions. "Better now?"
For a moment there was only static over the comm. unit. "Yes, and yes, that's the one we're looking for. If that's an actual, functioning backup disk then we've just struck gold. How about we make our own little bootleg copy of it and call it a day."
"That's it? There must be a catch somewhere. I refuse to believe that it's this simple."
"No catch…other than the fact that cloning a hard drive can take anything from fifteen minutes up to a day or two."
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xXx
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Tired, hungry and hormonal, Bella walked through the doors of the McDonalds restaurant at exactly a quarter to two in the afternoon. She would have been there sooner had she not been forced to make a small detour to get her backpack into Seth's waiting and eager hands.
Now that the work portion of her day was over and done with, all she really wanted was to do was to sink her teeth into a juicy cheeseburger. She was actually hungry for once and fully intended to stuff her face with every decent tasting bit of food she could get her hands on.
Edwards unruly mop of hair was easy enough to spot. He appeared to be alone, though, which had her a little concerned at first. Then she saw two little feet sticking out at an odd angle from behind him and realized that the little guy was climbing on the back of his daddy's chair.
Neither one of them saw her approaching, and therefore they both reacted with startled surprise as she plopped herself down on one of the empty chairs at the table.
"Jesez, Bella!" Edward tried to sound angry, but he seemed more relived than anything else. "You scared me half to death!"
"Only half?" she teased in an attempt at lightness. "I must be losing my touch."
Was that worry she had seen flicker across his face? She felt an odd pressure in her chest. It had been a long time since she had had anyone worrying about her.
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AN: This was a difficult chapter to write because of all the technical details involved. I'm not an expert on the subject, far from it, but let's see if we can break it down and separate fact from fiction…
What is a Keylogger?
A keylogger, is a hardware device that monitors each keystroke a user types on a specific computer's keyboard. The device is similar to a flash drive and is easy to hide "in plain sight" since most workstation keyboards plug into the back of the computer. Once keystrokes are logged, they are hidden in the device for later retrieval, or shipped raw to the attacker.
…and a R22 receiver?
Doesn't exist. I made that one up. There is something called X10 wireless technology receiver, though, which can be used to capture signals from wireless devices such as cameras. Pretty nifty, eh?
Can you really just stumble upon a backup disk like that? What about off site backup?
You really should store your backup off site and away from your office. What's the use of a backup if it will be destroyed in the same fire as the original. A lot of companies don't bother with this though…
Tape versus hd
There are several types of tapes that can be used for backup; DLT, QIC, Travan & DAT etc… DLT is prided as being one of the most reliable forms of backup. Hard drives on the other hand might fail after a year, or they might go 10 years. You never know. Today the HD backup method is significantly less expensive.
To achieve off site storage of your backup you'll need to use multiple tapes or HDs that you switch manually to make incremental backups (daily, weekly, monthly, etc)
There must be a catch somewhere. Can it really be that simple?
I'd like to believe that medical facilities that handle confidential records have competent IT personnel and strong security for their servers. I know first hand, though, that that is not always the case. A few years back I had the opportunity to peak my head inside the server room at a dentist office… what did I see if not a an external backup hard drive… upon investigating further it became clear that it hadn't been plugged in for several days. .